LCQ12: Smoking cessation support services and tobacco control education
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Question:
There are views pointing out that among the many tobacco control measures implemented by the Government in recent years, smoking cessation support services and education are of great importance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of persons served by the smoking cessation clinics under the Hospital Authority in each month of the past three years, as well as such persons' success rate of quitting smoking;
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the relapse rate for the persons who successfully quit smoking as mentioned in (1), and whether it has provided them with follow-up and support services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) of the following information on the provision of community-based smoking cessation services by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) subvented by the Department of Health in the past three years: the names of such NGOs, the types of services provided, the number of participants in the smoking cessation services and, among them, the numbers of those who completed the smoking cessation service programme and successfully quit smoking, as well as those who failed to complete the entire service programme;
(4) whether it has conducted survey on the levels of satisfaction of smoking cessation service users with the various smoking cessation support services (such as smoking cessation counselling services, medications, and smoking cessation services with Chinese medicine and acupuncture) and collected relevant feedback; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) whether it has compiled statistics on the ratios of different smoking cessation treatments used in Hong Kong at present;
(6) whether it has compiled statistics on and assessed the relationship between the allocation of public resources and the effectiveness of smoking cessation services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(7) whether it has studied and analysed the reasons for smoking among minors and adults respectively; if so, of the details, and how its future tobacco control education and publicity strategies will tie in with the findings of the relevant studies; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Hospital Authority (HA), the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Lillian Kwok is as follows:
(1) to (6) Promoting smoking cessation is an important pillar under the tobacco control strategy. The Department of Health (DH) is responsible for co-ordinating smoking cessation services in Hong Kong. In addition to operating the Integrated Smoking Cessation Hotline that handles general enquiries and provides professional counselling on smoking cessation, the DH also collaborates with local universities for setting up hotlines to provide telephone-counselling services especially for young smokers. From 2022 to 2024, the Integrated Smoking Cessation Hotline of the DH handled 7 404, 9 684, and 9 297 enquiries respectively. Satisfaction survey results revealed that over 90 per cent of the service recipients interviewed were satisfied with the service in general.
On smoking cessation service, the DH collaborates with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in providing free and accessible community-based smoking cessation services including counselling service and consultations by doctors (with free postal services of smoking cessation medication) or Chinese medicine practitioners, and designated services for smokers from different ethnicities, as well as immigrant, teenager and workplace smokers. The DH arranges referrals for smokers to access various local smoking cessation services, including the aforementioned community-based smoking cessation services or those provided by clinics under the HA. The smoking cessation clinics under the HA will also assist HA's patients (especially those with chronic diseases) in quitting smoking. Smoking cessation service providers provides smokers receiving smoking cessation treatment with 52-week follow-up services to assess their quit status. The DH also launched the "Quit Smoking App", through which smokers can assess their nicotine dependence level, set quit plan, record quitting progress and get tips on how to deal with smoking craving, which would help maintain a smoke-free life.
From 2022 to 2024, 20 389, 27 709, and 28 559 smokers received smoking cessation services respectively through HA's smoking cessation clinics or community-based smoking cessation services (see Annex). The quit rates of service users (i.e. the percentage of service users who self-reported to have stayed quit in the past seven days) at 52 weeks after the quit date ranged from 20 per cent to 60 per cent (Note), which are comparable to those in overseas countries. The DH and HA do not maintain relevant data on the relapse rates among successful quitters.
The Government announced in June last year "10 measures for tobacco control", which include strengthening smoking cessation services. Currently, smoking cessation services have been extended to cover all District Health Centres (DHCs)/DHC Expresses across 18 districts in Hong Kong with a view to facilitating quitters in finding the most suitable and convenient way to quit smoking. The DH has also subvented three more Chinese medicine smoking cessation service providers (from one to four in total) starting from this year to operate smoking cessation clinics with an emphasis on counselling and acupuncture. The available service quotas for Chinese and Western medicine smoking cessation services under the community-based smoking cessation services are expected to increase to approximately 2 600 and 4 000 per annum respectively.
Smoking cessation is a dynamic process, and its effectiveness is influenced by social and environmental factors. For example, past experience from increasing tobacco duty shows that the greater the tax hike, the larger the number of calls received by the smoking cessation hotline. On the other hand, publicity and educational efforts are critical to assisting smokers to quit smoking successfully. Therefore, it is recommended under the "10 measures for tobacco control" to also strengthen publicity and education. The DH is committed to promoting a smoke-free culture, including promoting smoking cessation through mass media and promotional campaigns. The DH has launched the Quit in June campaign since 2021, and subsequently started distributing one-week trial packs of smoking cessation drugs (nicotine replacement therapy) to smokers for free with a view to encouraging smokers to attempt quitting and increasing the success rate, as well as introduced a trial programme on the use of Chinese medicine ear-point patches for smoking cessation. Most of the smokers who have tried the ear-point patches consider them useful in relieving the withdrawal symptoms. Following the Quit in June campaign each year, the number of calls to the smoking cessation hotline has significantly increased, indicating an uptick in smokers' intentions to quit.
Smoking cessation is beneficial to smokers of any age. There is a wide range of smoking cessation therapies that have been proven effective. Studies show that counselling and pharmacotherapy can boost the quit rate substantially. Through personalised and targeted smoking cessation services, healthcare professionals can better assist smokers in quitting smoking, and at the same time help the Government to promote smoking cessation more precisely. The Government will continue to support smokers intending to quit smoking and allocate resources as needed to strengthen smoking cessation services as well as publicity and promotional efforts, thereby safeguarding public health.
(7) The results of the Thematic Household Survey (THS) in 2023 showed that among the daily smokers of conventional cigarettes aged 15 and above in Hong Kong, over 90 per cent started smoking due to the influence of family, friends, or others. As such, the Government has actively engaged in public education for promoting a smoke-free environment. The DH, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, NGOs and healthcare professionals, have targeted young people on promoting anti-smoking messages, including organising smoking cessation competitions, health talks, training programmes and theatre programmes with local service groups; and through interactive teaching materials and mobile classrooms, revealing to students the tactics used by the tobacco industry to promote tobacco products and equipping them with the skills to resist picking up smoking habit when under peer pressure.
The findings of the THS showed that the younger the age group, the higher the rate of smoking flavoured cigarettes, and nearly 70 per cent smoked flavoured cigarettes when they first smoked. Scientific evidence shows that flavoured cigarettes, such as menthol or fruit-flavoured cigarettes, reduce the awareness of the hazards of tobacco and increase the chances of non-smokers (especially teenagers) to start smoking, as well as making them more vulnerable to continuing with the smoking habit and harder to quit. Besides, the findings of the school-based surveys on smoking pattern of students as commissioned by the Health Bureau and conducted by the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong in 2023 revealed that the ratio of secondary school students who currently smoke electronic cigarettes to those who smoke conventional cigarettes was similar (1.1 per cent each), indicating that e-cigarettes, among other smoking products, are particularly popular amongst the younger generation. Research suggests that e-cigarettes can serve as a gateway to smoking conventional cigarette. In this connection, the "10 measures for tobacco control" include banning flavoured conventional smoking products, banning the possession of alternative smoking products (ASPs), as well as prohibiting the provision of conventional smoking products and ASPs to persons aged below 18.
The Government will continue to step up the work on smoking cessation and explore various tobacco control measures in the medium and long term in order to eliminate the hazards posed by tobacco products on the society in all aspects and protect the health of the community under a progressive and multi-pronged approach with a view to moving towards a tobacco-free Hong Kong.
Note: The quit rates recorded by different smoking cessation programmes vary due to differences in target groups and treatment methods (for example counselling, pharmacotherapy and Chinese medicine and acupuncture). Smokers should choose the smoking cessation service/method that best suits their personal needs in order to quit smoking successfully.
Ends/Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:30
Issued at HKT 15:30
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